The following discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. It should be appreciated that the discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge of the person skilled in the art in any jurisdiction as at the priority date of the invention.
The invention relates to a shelter which, for example, can be used on the beach or the like in order to protect the user from exposure to the sun. One existing form of shelter comprises a beach umbrella which has a central post which is receivable in the ground. A difficulty with such umbrellas relates to the requirement that they must be oriented to minimise their resistance to the prevailing wind and to prevent them from being carried away with the wind while at the same time providing adequate protection from the sun. In addition unless properly fixed in the ground, such umbrellas can readily become dislodged and carried away as a result of strong winds which create a potential danger to other users of the beach.
Another form of shelter comprises a shell like structure which can be disassembled to be readily portable. A difficulty with such shelters is that the roof portion is located very close to the ground. They must also be oriented appropriately to accommodate for the prevailing wind conditions which in many cases are not conducive to providing adequate shelter from the sun.